Fantasy Freestyle

Checking in on Cinderella: Pitchers

Last week, we discussed the difficulty of evaluating unexpected early-season studs. Their cumulative statistics can often camouflage a subsequent downturn in performance because of a strong month of April, leaving fantasy owners hanging on to overperformers longer than they should. It simply takes too long for the overall numbers to become unpalatable when they’re bolstered by an extremely strong stretch early in the year. Thus, it is important to isolate recent performance and determine whether Cinderella has legitimate staying power as early as possible. Fantasy owners can’t afford to pick up guys like Emilio Bonifacio during his hot stretch and stick with him for the next couple months while he drags his feet behind the remainder of one’s roster.

We previously focused on hitters who enjoyed surprising starts to the 2014 season, isolating their performance since the beginning of May to determine if their recent performance has remained acceptable after such a strong April. Guys like Michael Morse and Dee Gordon stood on one side of the room, while Dayan Viciedo and Trevor Plouffe quietly sulked in the corner on the opposite side.

Today, we move to the pitcher’s mound and look at a handful of hurlers who unexpectedly dominated in April. Have they sustained their performance? Should you continue to carry them on your fantasy roster?